


Bad Day

by nagi_schwarz



Series: Juris Imprudence [22]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, M/M, lawyer AU, tw: child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 02:44:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7024036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the comment_fic prompt: "Stargate Multiverse, Any, Lawyer AU: Bad day at the office."</p><p>Jack catches Daniel after a bad day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bad Day

Jack was pretty sure he was the only one at the office late on a Friday night, marshaling the end-of-year performance reviews for the associates, when he heard a crash.

He was on his feet immediately, on alert, heading through the bullpen. All of the cubicles were empty, cleaned up for the weekend. In fact, the computers had even been shut down, which was a sign that none of the paralegals were planning on putting in any overtime.

There was another crash.

The kitchen.

Jack ran through the list of weapon bolt-holes all across the bullpen and offices.

A third crash. Shattering glass.

Jack pressed himself against the wall, took a breath, then swung into the doorway, hands raised to defend or attack or -

Daniel wound up and hurled another mug against the wall.

“Daniel?”

Daniel’s expression was terribly blank as he scooped up another mug and threw it against the wall. It bounced and hit the floor and shattered. At least he was throwing the generic mugs, not other people’s favorite personal mugs.

“Daniel, what’s going on?”

“She killed my kid.”

Daniel threw another mug. He had a pretty good arm. Had he played baseball?

Baseball always made Jack think of Charlie.

“Who killed your kid?”

“His mother.”

Jack didn’t keep track of other attorneys’ caseloads, but he was usually aware of the big incidents in their cases, because lawyers were a gossipy bunch, and they always had to share the drama.

“She was high - _again_ \- and she didn’t strap him in right and she went driving to look more drugs and now he’s dead. She didn’t have an ID on her and was too high to be coherent so they called me - they called me to identify his body. Because she had my business card on her.” Daniel’s tie was askew and his face was wet with tears.

Daniel often came across as a mild-mannered, disinterested academic, but Jack knew - from having called around to Daniel’s references - that he cared deeply about his cases, about the children he represented.

Jack said, “Do you need me to give you a ride home?” What Daniel probably needed was to get blind drunk and then fall asleep.

“You know what the worst part was?” Daniel asked.

“What?”

“He looks just like my son.”

“Son?” Jack echoed stupidly.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “I never told you about my wife and son?”

“...No.”

“Sha’re. I met her on a dig in Egypt. Met her again when I was doing an assignment with the Egyptian Ambassador. We had a boy, Sharif. She called him Shifu as kind of a joke, because he was born bald and looked like a little buddhist monk in the saffron blanket one of the nurses gave us.”

Jack wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what came next, but he said, “What happened?”

“They were kidnapped while we were on another visit to Egypt. The locals thought I was more important than I was, had more money or - something. But the government doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, and Sha’re wasn’t an American citizen, so she was collateral damage. She and Sharif.”

That explained why Daniel spoke Arabic with an Egyptian accent.

Daniel stared at the floor for a long time, then moved to get the broom and dustpan from the corner, sweep up the shards of ceramic. “You can replace them out of my paycheck.”

“I had a wife and son,” Jack said.

Daniel went still.

“Sara was a nurse. Charlie loved to play baseball.” The words were like glass in his throat, but he spoke them anyway, because it was now or never. “He was so proud of me, flyboy and soldier that I was. He wanted to be just like me. He was fascinated by everything about me - my uniform, my jet. My gun.”

Daniel looked at Jack.

Jack looked away. “After he died, Sara and I got divorced.”

“I’m sorry,” Daniel said.

“So am I.” Jack knelt and held the dustpan in place so Daniel could sweep the mug fragments into it. Once the kitchen was clean, Jack said, “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Daniel shook his head. “No. I’d better go home alone.” He scooped up his jacket and keys, kissed Jack on the mouth, and headed for the door.

Jack heard the staff door open, close, and then lock before he recovered.

Daniel had just kissed him.

Jack ran after him. “Daniel, wait!”


End file.
